


Appointments

by kayr0ss



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: And let's watch Diana fall in love with adamantly denying it, F/F, Fluff, Kind of college?, Let there be slow burn fluff, Older, Romance, Slow Build, i dont know, jk, she won't deny it that hard, small town AU, this was just... a cute idea okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-02 15:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16307840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayr0ss/pseuds/kayr0ss
Summary: Diana has her life down pat. She's a doctor in a small, quiet town with two friends and her books. She doesn't expect everything to change when a girl literally rams into her life (on the crosswalk), gets into multiple accidents which require medical attention, and somehow is always at the right place and time.And... surely those red eyes weren't real?[Small Town AU - older!LWA gang, Doctor Diana, Akko being so many things, and a bunch of side-stories]





	1. 14:30 in the Afternoon

Diana was out by two-thirty in the afternoon.

It was a surprise to have so few patients, but it meant that their community was getting healthier and that no children with allergies were gifted stuffed animals by well-meaning but misinformed uncles and aunts that day. She stepped out of her office, keys jingling, to find Barbara flipping through a novel behind the small front desk.

“Slow day, huh?”

“It’s a welcome change,” Diana agreed softly.

“I’ll stay a while in case there are any emergencies,” the other woman smiled at her. “Now go! You’ve actually got a free afternoon.”

Diana bid her farewell, thankful that she would be able to indulge in her novels in peace. Barbara worked as nurse at their clinic and very capable one, at that. She’d be able to manage anything immediately life threatening, at least until Diana arrived.

Diana walked home in a steady pace. Blytonbury wasn’t a big town, her clinic was a manageable distance away from her apartment, and all of this was no lucky coincidence. Diana’s decision to move to Blytonbury was the result of careful planning and consideration. The town was adjacent to Luna Nova University, one of the county’s more prominent institutions. She wanted to keep her options for educational advancement open and LNU’s Faculty of Medicine & Surgery was housed within the famed St. Bellatrix Memorial Medical Center. It was painfully cliché, but everyone was right when they said ‘learning never stops’—especially for doctors.

But she supposed the best part was that it was a small, quiet town. People were civil, but not nosy. Shops were close enough to walk to, travelling farther distances was easy and traffic-free. Moving here was one of her better decisions in life, and she relished  the thought with a comfortable sense of satisfaction.

She paused at a traffic light, watching the red pedestrian crosswalk numbers count downwards. The local bakery and cafe was across the street, and Diana entertained the idea of treating herself to some cheesecake. She could see Jasminka, the owner, chatting with a little girl while seated on one of the outdoor tables. Diana didn’t know much about Jasminka other than that she came from a wealthy Russian family, baked wonderful pastries, and had _never_ been drunk on vodka even after drinking liters of it. That last snippet of information was entirely unsolicited, but Barbara told her over a cup of tea anyway.

Right. Cheesecake it is.

The light flickered green, and Diana stepped into the crosswalk with her usual grace, wondering if she should buy another slice for later that evening. Just when she began wondering about dinner, she was quite _rudely_ shoved aside and—

“Sorry!”

Diana frowned, regaining her footing and nearly dropping her purse. She was thankful that her heels were a reasonable height; falling on asphalt would have been damper on a good day. She caught a glimpse of a foreign face and a lot of _brown,_ but not much else. Straightening out her clothes and hurrying to the other side of the street, she shook her head and hoped that the girl—woman?—was running for good reason.

“English Breakfast, Dr. Cavendish?”

Jasminka’s kindly voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she felt a warm appreciation that the cafe owner could remember her tea of choice. Then again, she was a woman of habit; she doesn’t recall having ordered anything else.

“I’d prefer the cheesecake for today,” Diana politely replied, mumbling a small ‘thank you’ while she was led through the cafe’s doors and embraced by the delectable aroma of coffee and baked goods. It was her first free afternoon in quite some time; she realized that she hasn’t really _stayed_ within the cafe for much longer than it took to get tea for take-out. It was a quaint, cozy place. She wistfully entertained the idea of tucking herself into a corner seat and writing her days away.

“Cheesecake for the good doctor,” Jasminka chimed, and Diana smoothly handed over her bills—exact amount and tip prepared beforehand because that’s just how she was—before waving goodbye and going on her way. She noticed that Jasminka returned to her table outside; the little girl had dutifully waited for her to finish work. It seemed quite nice, sharing a coffee with a friend on a lazy afternoon. Perhaps someday she should invite Hannah and Barbara. Contrary to popular belief, Diana wasn’t quite as severe as everyone thought she was—the medical profession was simply rigid by nature.

It didn’t help that the townsfolk tended to put her on a pedestal, either. She appreciated the town’s small community and tight-knit efficiency, but sometimes, despite having stayed for quite a while, she felt that the warmth and closeness was something she only saw from the outside looking in.

Diana caught sight of the imposing Oak tree adjacent to her apartment, and she effortlessly found her keys, sliding the appropriate one into her lock once she arrived at her doorstep.

Maybe she’ll think about socializing another day; her books were waiting.

 

* * *

 

Oh crap, oh crap, oh _shit_!

Being late for your first lecture, on your first day of classes was definitely _not_ the impression Atsuko Kagari wanted to leave. Especially if classes started at two-forty-five in the afternoon. Who the hell had classes at two _forty-five_?! Would it kill them to move it down to three? She grit her teeth, falling into a controlled sprint while avoiding a fire hydrant, narrowly missing a small child (“Watch it, kid!”), and finally skidding to a halt because her sides were starting to ache. She paused, catching her breath while she darted a look to her watch.

_14:32_

Acceptance was the first step, she supposed. She had thirteen minutes to get to class and groaning wasn’t going to change that.

 _A bike,_ she bitterly thought to herself, trying not to spill her belongings while she sped back up into a run and vaulted over a cart full of computers (pushed by a weird-looking lady). She hit the pavement running, _you need to get yourself a goddamn bike._ The run itself was exhilarating, but her first class was Sociology and this ‘Professor du Nord’ sounded like a serious big-shot.

Perhaps she should have been more careful, she’s heard stories that graduate school classes and professors didn’t really care all _that_ much about attendance and punctuality, but it was a bit too late to be careful at this point. She was approaching a pedestrian crosswalk and could _not_ afford the sixty-second countdown if she missed it. So she strained her legs, feeling them burn, mildly forgetting about the threat of on-coming traffic and feeling a surge of victory when she made in just in time. But then—

She had been so distracted by beating the countdown that she didn’t notice the _other_ person crossing the road. It was a mild collision, and Akko was going too fast to slow down so she looked over her shoulder for a second while she ran, and yelled out an apologetic, “Sorry!”

Come in late for her first _afternoon_ class, cause nearly _three_ road accidents, and shove a pretty, blonde girl all within the same hour. Typical Akko.

_14:48_

Akko barged into the classroom, panting and genuinely proud that she was only three minutes late. She expected the room to be nearly-empty, but she was instead greeted by about twenty kids who looked about sixteen to eighteen years old. She narrowed her eyes in confusion and noted that Professor du Nord was not yet in. Taking a hold of her breathing, she observed her surroundings. The architecture was old-fashioned and European, with a high ceiling and several lamps hanging overhead. The room was a small lecture hall, with each row climbing upwards towards the back, and the main pedestal at the lowest level towards the front.

“Are _you_ our professor?” one of them tilted her head, and Akko groaned, realizing that she would be taking core subjects with undergraduates before moving on to post-grad units.

“No,” she took a deep breath, wiping the sweat off her brow.

“Oh!” the student’s eyes glazed over at her in wonder, “you _did_ look too cool to be a professor!”

Akko laughed, feeling herself fall at ease when the awkward quietness returned to the excited chatter of the first day of school. She looked towards the back of the hall, hoping that there was still somewhere to sit that was a respectable distance from the pedestal when she saw a small, orange-haired woman with an empty seat beside her.

Akko shuffled up the steps of the auditorium, dramatically sinking into the seat beside the bespectacled woman before shooting her with a determined look.

"H-Hi?" the woman said meekly.

“I'm Akko!” Akko grinned, eager to make her first friend. She didn’t look like a freshman, so maybe a senior? "Be my friend!"

The other woman blinked, completely caught off-guard, but then she seemed to nod and took Akko's hand in what looked like mild apprehension.

"I'm... Lotte Jansson."

The lecture transpired without further incident. It was what she’d expected: a quick introduction, a rundown of what was to be expected, and an early dismissal after a whole fifteen minutes in class. Akko had quickly warmed up to Lotte, and while she was a lot more subdued than Akko, she seemed to take to Akko quite quickly herself. She was apparently finishing a master’s degree in creative writing, taking up units in Humanities that she felt would contribute to her craft. They had a trinket shop back home. She loved books. It was all-in-all a charming life story.

“And you?” her new friend tilted her head in inquiry.

“Oh!” Akko grinned, “I’m a violinist.”

Lotte blinked at her, curious, and she couldn’t help but ask—“what are you doing taking up Sociology?”

“I needed more Humanities units,” Akko shrugged. Lotte looked like she was going to ask a bit more, but apparently left the rest for another conversation. Akko didn’t mind, and was all but happy to find out that her new friend was staying near her apartment in town. “You’ve been staying here a while?”

“Ever since I started further studies, yeah,” Lotte looked around the streets, “it’s a nice place for a writer.”

Akko nodded, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket. They walked briskly, but in no particular hurry, and the brunette appreciated the slower pace. Making friends with Lotte put her at ease; she didn’t feel so alone anymore.

She was a new girl in a foreign town, after all.

Lotte had sputtered into laughter when Akko told her about how she nearly missed the bus stop when she first came here, and she was given a quick overview of how commuting and transportation typically worked within the village.

“There’s a shuttle that usually travels to the University and back.  It leaves the center of town—near the clinic—at regular intervals,” Lotte supplied.

“It isn’t _that_ far though,” Akko pouted, crossing her arms. An earlier idea wormed it’s way back to her mind.

“Hey, Lotte!”

The other woman looked at her curiously.

“Is there a bike shop somewhere nearby?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! Holy shyeeet this is my first multi-chap attempt at LWA and I am honestly hoping for the best. I've also like, never really done AUs before, so this is a whole new adventure for me and I hope that you guys enjoy it along the way!


	2. She's a Little Abrasive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko needs to see a doctor, and Diana is having trouble understanding this woman-child with a knee scrape.

She would have really liked her first, new, friend to be here for the occasion, but Lotte had class and Akko could understand. Besides, they were going to have brunch at a cafe the following morning—and Lotte was bringing a friend!

She was _definitely_ going to master biking today. Any minute now! She could _feel_ it in her bones.

…at least, in the ache of her bones.

A few days prior, Lotte had dutifully brought Akko downtown where shops lined the streets and market stalls set up camp in the few open lots. It was a wonderful experience; they made a girls’ night out of it. By the end of the evening, Akko was the proud owner of a brand-new bike.

Never mind that she didn’t actually _know_ how to ride it. Yet.

‘Yet’ was very important, because whenever Atsuko Kagari put her mind on something, she did _every damn thing_ she could to get it done. She had a new bike, a lot of free time— _I probably need a job soon—_ and nothing to lose. She popped her knuckles, tongue-in-cheek while she gripped the leather coverings of the handle bar. Like a sniper, the brunette surveyed her surroundings. The park was in a state of relative peace, apart from the grade school football team practicing at the center field. She was in the designated bike lane which encircled the field, and the weather was dry and overcast. It was three in the afternoon on a Thursday, only a few locals had come out for their afternoon runs, so she was going to have to maximize the time she had the lane all to herself.

She remembered being seven, sitting cross-legged in front of their TV while she watched a famous triathlete finish the Samhain Cup in record time. The woman said something about believing in your heart—Akko couldn’t remember the _exact_ words—but it was enough to get her going. She pushed the right pedal down, and with excitement in her chest she felt the bike roll forward. When the momentum was enough to keep her upright, she grinned, bringing her left foot to its respective pedal, pushing down on it with renewed confidence because _she was going fast enough to feel the wind against her skin!_

She was biking!

And then she was screaming.

“ _Shit!”_ was an understatement—she completely missed a rock and was unceremoniously tossed off of her bike. She hissed, feeling a sharp, stinging pain at the knee, blinking through the mess of brown hair that had flown forward and covered her face. She pushed herself up on her palms and could hear the bike’s rear wheel still spinning on its axle. At least it wasn’t broken?

“That—”

Akko saw a strong hand thrust in front of her face.

“—was a complete embarrassment.”

“I _noticed.”_ Akko groaned, clasping the hand. She mumbled a small ‘thank-you’ while she was pulled up—her knee was bleeding pretty badly.

“You need to have that cleaned,” the woman pointed out. “Then buy some knee pads. Or borrow some from the kids,” she pointed over her shoulder towards the football team.

Akko regarded her wound with a cringe. She bent downwards, trying to dust off the grime around it, but when she looked up to ask for her name, the lady had turned on her back and was walking towards the field. Akko shrugged, figuring she’d be hanging around the park often enough to see her again anyway.

But for now, she needed to see a doctor.

_15:58_

_Or not. That’s going to have to wait._ Skinning her knee wasn’t part of today’s schedule and she had Applied Physics by five-thirty. Soap and a bandage would do, and Akko cursed her luck while she walked her bike back to the apartment; she didn’t feel like sprinting across town again.

By five-fifteen, she was freshly showered and seated in class. Akko did a little dance because ‘ _small victories count!_ ’

Applied Physics wasn’t as bad as it sounded. She thought it would be full of undergrads like Sociology was, but it seems this was the nightshift class—full of post-grads who needed units in science ‘for formality’s sake’ like her. There were only a few in attendance, and she had acquainted herself with a peculiar girl named ‘Sucy’. Akko had, in her usual fashion, declared them friends out of ‘Asian solidarity’, and honestly Sucy didn’t look like she cared so she took that as a yes.

—

It was a pleasant surprise when she discovered that the friend Lotte was bringing for brunch was Sucy from Physics.

“I can feel the beginnings of a solid friendship!” Akko grinned, starry-eyed while she looked between Lotte and Sucy.

“I thought I was through with this idiot last night,” Sucy drawled, to which Lotte only sighed.

“Sucy and I have known each other for a while,” Lotte supplied. “We’re roommates.”

“You guys live together?” Akko asked in wonder.

“Yeah,” Lotte smiled, “helps cut costs. Tuition is expensive, and I’m trying to finish my degree as quick as possible because I chose to study full-time.”

“I intern at the Chemistry department,” Sucy interjected.

Akko shot her new friend an expectant look, taking the opportunity to observe her appearance. She exuded an over-all ‘I honestly don’t give a fuck’ vibe, and her long, purple hair which mysteriously covered her eye added to the effect. It suited her.

“ _And?”_

“That’s it,” Sucy punctuated. “I intern at the Chemistry department.”

Facts and interests were shared over a brunch of eggs and toast, and while it was mainly Akko and Lotte who did the talking, she eagerly learned more and more about Sucy Manbavaran and her talent in mixing things that either exploded, corroded any organic material it interacted with, or corroded the material _before_ causing it to explode. Akko thought it was ‘really cool’ that she cultivated a mushroom colony underneath her bed, but apparently Lotte _didn’t_ because ‘fungi’ and ‘potentially dangerous spores’.

The minutes ticked by and their drinks had gone cold. The cafe owner—a kind, soft spoken Russian woman—would occasionally join in; Akko learned that Lotte and Sucy were regulars and the owner seemed happy to welcome a new face to the neighborhood. Lotte had ordered and slice of cake (“They are to _die_ for!”), and the group was sucked into a detailed report of Akko’s biking progress and subsequent accident.

“I can’t believe I let you buy a bike,” Lotte massaged her temples. “Let me see the wound?”

Akko pulled her skirt up, and Lotte winced.

“Akko!”

“I think I have something for that,” Sucy had fangs in her grin.

“Sucy—” Lotte hissed, “— _no.”_

Akko blinked, “but if it helps—”

“ _Nope!_ ” Lotte set her palm on the table. “You’re going to see a doctor. It’s looks _terrible_! Why did you leave it untreated over night?”

“I… was late for class?”

 

* * *

 

 

When the door to her office swung open, Diana retracted her pen with a click, looking up from the patient file Barbara gave her with a practiced expression of professionalism. She would nod politely, greeting them a good morning before engaging in small ta—

Brown hair and… red eyes?

“Wait, _you_?”

Diana didn’t expect the reaction from herself, and apparently her very confused patient didn’t either. She stole a quick glance to the patient file.

_Atsuko Kagari  
F | 24 | Blood type O+ | 161cm | 48kg_

“Er—what?”

Her gaze flitted back towards the woman, and it dawned upon her that this was no way to behave herself at work. She cleared her throat and put a cool facade back on, internally scolding herself for the slip-up. “My apologies,” Diana stood to offer a handshake, “there was a woman at the crosswalk some days ago, I may have mistaken you for—”

“You’re the pretty blonde chick!”

Atsuko-Kagari-With-Red-Eyes-and-Blood-Type-O+ had a finger pointed towards Diana and a slack-jawed look of recognition.

“ _Excuse me?_ ” Diana snapped.

Her patient visibly cringed. “ _Shit_. Not going to repeat that—doesn’t mean I don’t _mean_ it! It’s just my mouth spews out crap before I really think about it and— _anyway—_ what I’m trying to say is I think I messed my knee up pretty bad.”

Diana crossed her arms, choosing not to react because this woman just made her cycle through three different emotions within fifteen seconds. The best defense was a statement of facts, “so you _were_ the one who shoved me in the middle of the road.”

“Yeah,” the other woman grinned sheepishly, looking away while she scratched at the back of her head. “Sorry about that. Was late to class.”

“Interesting.” Diana raised an eyebrow, “and your knee?”

“Biking accident.”

She relented, choosing to let the circumstances of their first meeting slide in favor of the automaticity of a check-up. Barbara had taken care of the preliminaries—blood pressure, vital signs, and other pertinent information.

“Tell me what happened.”

She directed the brunette towards a nearby stool while she fetched a pair of rubber gloves and pulled the lamp closer. ‘Atsuko’ recounted yesterday’s events in a jumbled run-on sentence and Diana felt her exasperation grow because the brunette simply _couldn’t stay still._

“Stop fidgeting.”

“But it tickles!”

To her frustration, Atsuko just kept squirming. Diana held the other woman’s knee steady with a gloved hand, brows knitting together in thought while she scrutinized the injury. The surrounding area was red and seemed a bit swollen. She gently put pressure around the abrasion—

“Ouch!”

“Tenderness and pain,” she mumbled. “It’s infected.” _Early stages; no pus or liquid discharge._

“So what do I need to do?”

“First off—why did you let it get to this? You should have come in yesterday.”

“You aren’t the first to tell me,” Atsuko groaned, crossing her arms. “But I would have been late to class.”

“Again.”

“ _Would have been,”_ the brunette emphasized, shooting a challenging glare to her direction. “And I _wasn’t_ , for the record.”

“Lovely. Will a pat on the back suffice?”

Atsuko frowned, her lip jutting out in a pout, “I don’t need your approval!”

“While this is true, I believe that running around town—constantly late for class—is no way for a college student in Luna Nova to behave.”

“I’m a _graduate_ student,” the brunette huffed.

Diana raised an eyebrow. “Then even more so. You’re already at the professional level, Atsuko.”

“Akko.”

The physician tilted her head in inquiry.

“It’s my nickname.” ‘Akko’ rubbed at the sides of her head. “Calling me ‘Atsuko’ in that nagging voice of yours is reminding me of my mother and giving me headache.”

“Well, _Atusko_ ,” Diana said pointedly, “perhaps I should just include an aspirin in your prescription.”

She pulled out her pen in a sharp motion that signaled the end of their conversation and scribbled something onto a prescription pad. She tore off of the leaf of paper and held it out towards her patient, who had snatched it up and was now inspecting it with those big, curiously red eyes.

Those same red eyes which were now narrowed in thought. “I’m not even going to pretend to know what these are.”

Diana almost chuckled. _Almost._ “Fucidic acid—it’s a topical anti-bacterial. Apply it twice a day for a week after thorough washing, and then dress your wound according to the instructions I’ve written. If the wound begins to close and there’s still pain or swelling, you’ll have to come back and I might need to give you oral antibiotics.”

“Right,” her patient dutifully nodded.

“If there’s pus, or if it becomes watery you need to come back immediately. May I ask where you’re staying?”

“Why?”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “So I know which pharmacy to refer you to. The nearest is along Orion Street.”

“Oh—that’s on the way home!”

“Good. The attending pharmacist is a good friend—”

“Glad to know you actually _have_ those,” she mumbled.

“—named Ms. England.” Diana punctuated, purposefully ignoring the jab.

“Her surname is seriously England?”

“Yes.”

It looked like she was trying her hardest not to snicker but— “we’re in England.”

It must have been her hundredth eyeroll, but Diana did it anyway.

“It’s like… if my surname was Japan,” she giggled.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Diana interjected, “there will also be no biking until the abrasion heals”

“But—”

“No buts. The wound will open—you’ll just be susceptible to infection all over again.”

“ _Mou,”_ she pouted. It was rather disarming. “Fine.”

Diana heard the front door’s bell ring. Her two o’clock appointment was on the dot. _Unlike ‘Akko’,_ she noted with a mixture of annoyance and… _something_.

“Well,” the brunette blurted out, spirits evidently dampened. “Thanks. I’ll just head out to the reception for my due.”

The blonde nodded, wordlessly allowing Atusko to collect her things.

“Atusko Kagari,” Diana muttered to herself once the woman in question was out of earshot. She leaned back into her leather office chair. “Akko.” What a peculiar woman. They were roughly the same age, with Diana being older by a little over a year, but there was a glaring difference in maturity. And an over-abundance in child-like glee. _Which isn’t inherently a bad thing_ , she hummed. It was… rather refreshing. She deduced that her patient was likely new in town.

“You?!”

The sudden shouting jerked her up in her seat. She leaned forward to get a view through the opened office door and saw that new arrival’s usual scowl was a little deeper today. The lilac-haired woman had an accusatory finger pointed towards none other than Atsuko Kagari.

“You’re the crazy-ass woman who _vaulted_ over my equipment a few days ago!”

“You were the weird-looking computer lady!” the brunette gasped. Then she squinted, rubbing at her chin in thought, “…though I swear I’ve seen you somewhere else before.”

“Did you just call me weird!?” the woman in glasses glowered.

“Holy shit,” Akko gaped.

“You two know each other?” Barbara, who was watching from behind the front desk, looked like she was about to burst a nerve from all the yelling.

“Aren’t you my Physics professor?!”

“If you attend the five-thirty on Thursdays, then yes.”

“How do you not recognize me?” Akko flailed her arms. “There were like, _eight_ of us.”

“Because I don’t give a fuck,” the bespectacled woman grunted. “My job is to teach and give you tests, not hold hands and make friends.”

“But you’re supposed to be a mentor to look up to!” Akko whined, and Diana was amazed at how she didn’t seem to care that this woman was apparently her _professor_ and that she already had _two_ strikes against her before their second meeting in class.

“What are you?” the older woman scoffed. “In elementary school?”

“Why does everyone keep talking to me like a kid!” the brunette cried indignantly, slamming her payment onto the front desk without bothering with the receipt. She dramatically stomped out of the clinic, and the three other women could only watch in bewilderment.

“That girl is going to give me an aneurism,” Barbara blinked.

“Or a heart attack,” her latest patient agreed. The woman let herself into Diana’s office, lazily falling into the vacant chair with her arms crossed.

“Good afternoon, professor.” Diana picked up her stethoscope—this one was a pulmonary case. “Have you been considering your options for cardio exercise? Perhaps light jogging to build lung stamina?”

The woman shuddered, “can’t I just rely on my inhaler forever?”

Diana sighed, clicking at her pen before looking down to review the patient record. This time, it was a regular.

 _Dr. Croix Meridies_  
_F | 35 | Blood type AB- | 172cm | 57kg_  
_Instructor: Department of Engineering & Actuarial Sciences, LNU_  
_— Asthma & Misc. Pulmonary Complications_

One difficult patient after another, she supposed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just need to clarify that I'm not a medical person so I really just tried to wing the technicalities of this! [Thank you Google and WebMD - but please don't self-medicate using Google or WebMD!!!!!!!!!!]
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented on the first chapter! Your response to it really got me up and writing and smiling silly! Anyway I hope u enjoy ehehehe


	3. FRIENDSHIP NO JUTSU!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko made friends and didn't take no for an answer.

“And then I named him Toby!” Akko grinned, whispering over her shoulder towards Lotte.

The afternoon Sociology lecture was winding down, and it seemed even Professor du Nord was fidgeting to get out and enjoy the pleasant weather. Akko, on the other hand, was _dying_ to be anywhere other than a stuffy classroom; she was in much too good a mood to be sitting still. Honestly, _wow_ , how did people who had five hour lectures survive? Was there a whole breakfast, lunch and dinner service in between? _Five_ hours! Akko was at her wit’s end with just two!

Then again, it might have been the extra energy today. Akko was feeling chipper—even more so than usual. She wasn’t late to class (she’d love to shove _that_ to a certain medical practitioner’s face), she was starting to settle into the routine of her new life in town, and best of all: she had a new friend.

A new, adorable, purring, might-not-have-had-rabies-shots, cat-friend named Toby who poked around the school shuttle stop at the town center.

All that was left was to find a part-time job.

“You can’t just feed stray cats!” Lotte hissed under her breath. “And how did you know it was a boy? I hope you didn’t hold it, Akko, it can be very dangerous to—”

“It had balls?”

“That… makes sense,” Lotte blinked. “But _still_. It’s going to start expecting food at the same place, especially if you’ve been doing it for a few days by now.”

“I live near the shuttle stop,” Akko shrugged, casually waving her hand. Her friendship with Lotte felt like a rock that kept her in place while she explored her new environment, and in her own Akko-way, she was thankful for it despite the nagging. Akko could recognize care expressed in its different forms.

There was no bell to signal the (rather awkwardly-timed) end of Sociology class, but the room’s listless chatter cued Akko in to check her watch.

_16:43!_

Two minutes never felt so long. She huffed impatiently, tapping her fingers on the desk.

“You’re _extra_ fidgety today.”

“I’m going to go see Toby!” Akko completely ignored Lotte’s exasperated eye-roll. “Jasminka likes to give me left-over bread and crumbs for him! He already shows up when I wait for the shuttle to school anyway.”

“You’re literally just taking Sociology and Physics. What about the rest of the days?”

“I’ll walk by and feed him?” Akko said as if it were obvious. “I like taking walks, anyway.”

“So I’ve heard,” a kindly voice said from a short distance away. “University Admin has been so kind to inform me that a student with brown hair and red eyes _ran_ from Central Blytonbury to my class during the start of classes.”

Akko “P—Professor!”

“Miss Kagari, correct?” the woman sported glasses and had a welcoming smile. Akko noticed that while she _was_ a good professor, she seemed a little… easily stressed at times. She had fascinatingly red hair, which transitioned to blue towards the end. It looked liked she was growing out her hair and abandoning a former dye job, and Akko was about to suggest that it was long enough to be trimmed before remembering that she had been asked a question.

“Yes,” the brunette nodded, and Lotte had turned to watch the exchange.

“I don’t recall you being late for my lecture,” Professor du Nord pointed out. “What time did you leave Central?”

“Er— _Ano_ —” Akko strained to remember, feeling a little nervous. Why was she asking? Was she going to get marked late even if the Professor came in _after_? That wasn’t fair! Suddenly, she remembered the panicked feeling of only having _thirteen minutes_ to get to class and, “oh!” she mumbled to herself, driving a fist into her palm, “it was around two thirty-two when I bumped into ‘pretty blonde doctor.’”

Both Lotte and Professor du Nord raised their eyebrows in amusement, and the older woman smiled. “That’s rather impressive. Although I also heard you made quite the commotion along the way.”

Akko looked a little embarrassed, “sorry! I’m new in town and—”

The woman raised her hands to placate a visibly upset Akko, “what I came here to ask,” she interjected, “is if you would be interested in the University’s running club.”

“Running club?” the brunette paused in thought. That was… not what she expected?

“Mhmm,” Professor du Nord demurely clasped her hands. She didn’t look particularly athletic, or even _interested_ in anything related to running or sports, but people in this town have surprised Akko and she really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Sucy looked like she was into some weird stuff but not, she didn’t know, _fungi._ And apparently Jasminka from the cafe can _chug._

“I handle the track team and the running club,” the professor affirmed. “Anyway, it’s an open invitation, I’m sorry if I’ve kept you indoors for too long. Let me know what you think!”

“Oh no! It’s not a problem professor!” Akko waived her hands, flustered. She was warming up to the older woman faster than Lotte could say ‘ _Akko, no!_ ’ (which was pretty fast) and suddenly Sociology class was a more exciting concept than it previously was—especially now that she knew the professor seemed like a cool, albeit kind of nervous, and surprisingly sporty person.

“If you’ll excuse me,” the older woman waved. She was walking off the next moment, and Akko noticed there was a certain power in her strides that made for an interesting impression when put side-by-side with her personality.

“Officially my favorite teacher,” Akko nodded with conviction, pulling her backpack onto one shoulder.

“You only have two,” Lotte chuckled while she collected her books. “And from what I’ve heard about that physics professor, there wasn’t much competition.”

Somewhere along the walk to the campus shuttle station, Akko had lured Lotte into ‘going to feed Toby’. She knew Lotte wouldn’t say no to a trip to the local cafe, but she was damn well going to use every opportunity to talk about her cat-friend if it showed itself. The bus ride was spent gawking out the window and looking through a list of job postings she’d collected. She considered asking if Jasminka needed some help in the cafe, but if she could remember correctly, there was a new kid helping her out already.. Having so much free time was nice, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t beginning to feel guilty over her parents’ allowances. And honestly, having so much time was beginning to get boring.

 **‘Gym Instructor Needed’** _Disaster waiting to happen._

 **‘Library Staff** ’ _Would bore me to death._

 **‘Test Subjects Needed’**  
_— > Willing to sign health waivers_  
—> Semi-invasive Chemical testing  
—> Competitive Payment  
—> Non-disclosure agreement

“Hey,” Akko elbowed Lotte, “how much do you think they pay the test subjects?”

The other woman looked over to the advertisement and visibly paled. She grabbed the paper, groaned, and flipped out her phone to send what seemed to be quite a lengthy (and expressive) message to a friend.

“I never want to go through pulling half-unconscious strangers out our apartment building,” she shuddered.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she quickly said. “Anyway, we’re here.”

Akko was off the bus and running the next second, crossing towards the cafe (“Akko! Stop trying to beat the crosswalk light!) which was at the opposite corner of a small intersection. Central Blytonbury wasn’t anything like the other ‘City Centers’ she was used to. It was just—literally—at the geographical center of the town. It had the cafe, the shuttle stop, the clinic, and at every direction of the intersection you could find other notable areas like the park, a small gym, a row of brownstone houses (Orion Street - eastbound was where Lotte and Sucy boarded, and Akko was elated to find that out because she was just a few blocks down) and finally, the road towards the markets.

The smell of brewing coffee was becoming so familiar to Akko now that she could probably tell Jasminka’s coffee shop apart from others. She skipped across the shop’s front patio with Lotte barely keeping up from behind.

“Jasminka!” she grinned, bursting through the door.

“Akko,” Jasminka cheerily replied, “and hello as well, Lotte.”

“Hello!”

“I was just telling my friend about you,” the Russian woman was about to introduce her to a bright-haired woman who was leaning over the counter with a boyish swagger when the woman in question nearly choked on her coffee.

“Holy shit!” she grabbed at her stomach, trying not to double over in laughter, “you’re that girl who totally wiped-out at the park! With the bike!”

Akko blinked. _It’s the football coach._ It was the freaking football coach who had to help her up. “Stove top hair football coach,” she blurted out.

“S—Stove top hair?!”

“Why does this keep happening to me,” Akko mumbled to herself in disbelief. This town really _was_ ridiculously small.

“I can’t believe you dissed my hair,” the woman growled. Lotte and Jasminka watched in apprehension from the sidelines while the two, fiery personalities sized each other up.

“I mean that in a good way though?”

“How do you even like, mean that in a good way?”

“It looks badass!”

The woman blinked as if to consider the comment, “well I was going for that.”

That was apparently a good enough introduction because Akko held out her hand with mischievous enthusiasm. “I’m Akko! Be my friend!”

All things considered, she was surprised when the woman grinned. With a firm clasp, she took Akko’s hand, “my name is Amanda O’Neil!”

 

* * *

 

They had a cat problem.

“I guess it could be pretty bad,” Barbara scratched her head. “I mean, what if we had allergy patients and there are stray hairs near the clinic entrance.”

“Precisely,” Diana nodded, barely looking up from her copy of _Clinical Respiratory Medicine by Spiro, Silvestri, et al._ “There is also the matter of cleanliness and upholding medical standards to keep our permits. We’re going to have to find whoever’s leaving the breadcrumbs and have a few words.”

“Poor cat though. It was growing on me.”

Whether or not she felt sympathetic towards the cat was irrelevant to Diana, they had a job to do and an animal loitering in the nearby area was not something that could be compromised on. While the whole ordeal wasn’t necessarily that big of a problem, Diana found solace in the stability of her daily routine. She liked knowing what she would be doing at any given time of the day, and any errands out of her routine were planned and prepared for. The cat was not. “I can report it to the local shelter. If no one within the area claims ownership, they can take him away.”

“It’s a him?”

“Male genitalia,” Diana supplied professionally.

Barbara chortled, but with a wave of her hand she pushed the topic aside.

“Alright, let’s end _that_ conversation there,” the dark-haired woman stood from the examination stool and pulled a cat-like stretch. “Where on earth is Hannah?”

As if on cue, the bell by the front door alerted them to an expected visitor.

“Sorry!” a woman with auburn hair tied up in bow walked into the clinic with familiarity. “We ran out of losartan and I had to make sure the stocks were replenished.”

“Huh,” Barbara blinked, recalling that the drug was used to treat high blood pressure. “That’s odd. I never remembered the people as being hypertensive.”

“Quite an amusing coincidence,” Diana gently closed her book. “I can think of a few individuals who’d definitely contribute to a rise in collective blood pressure.”

“Is this the Kagari girl again?”

“Kagari?” Hannah inquired. “The girl you sent to the pharmacy for antibiotics?”

Diana nodded, “she was quite the character. It was rather… frustrating. I am not sure what to make of her behavior, most especially since she seems keen to cause trouble at every corner she is found.”

“At the pharmacy, she was in line with that old man, uhm—” Hannah gestured in the air, finding the name at the tip of her tongue, “—Mr. Landon! Yeah, him, with the cane? And she goes, ‘is that a wig? It looks nice!”

“No way,” Barbara shrieked. “That old man’s grumpier than a cave bear!”

“He _laughed,”_ Hannah said incredulously, “and said he wished everyone had a sense of humor like she did!”

“I wouldn’t put that past her based on what I’ve seen,” Diana nodded. “It’s fortunate that Mr. Landon found it amusing, but I doubt the rest of the townsfolk will be as receptive to her antics. Moreover,” Diana leaned back, taking off her glasses and neatly folding them on her desk, “she goes gallivanting around this way while enrolled in University. Scholars should conduct themselves accordingly, and not go pushing people around while running in the streets.”

Hannah and Barbara shared a look.

“She went even as far as to have an altercation with Dr. Meridies—the professor from Engineering, if you recall.”

“Well,” Barbara looked a little amused, “if you put it that way, she _does_ sound like bad news.”

“I shouldn’t be one to deliver a judgement on character,” Diana crossed her arms, brows furrowing in frustration. “But I simply… can’t make heads or tails of it.”

Hannah laughed. “Wow. This is the most worked up we’ve seen you since… the Physician Licensure Exam?”

Diana was about to voice out her dissent, but then she realized she _was_ getting unreasonably worked up over an acquaintance. She felt her face flush a little, but she digressed. It was nearing five-twenty in the afternoon and she was _finally_ able to invite Hannah and Barbara for a very-much-planned and on-schedule coffee.

A minute before the clock struck five-thirty, the group was welcomed by the signature aroma of Jasminka’s brew. There was no cheesecake today, so the chocolate croissants would have to make do. She considered trying a sandwich—the shop liked to cut off the crusts (she always liked her sandwiches that way). On some days, Jasminka liked to suggest her something new, but Diana would politely decline. She always took note of her suggestions, though, stowing it away incase of she felt adventurous one of these days.

Whenever _that_ might happen.

So English Breakfast tea with croissants it was. Hannah opted for something with vanilla, while Barbara ordered one of those peculiar mocha-peppermint frappuccino that Diana could never bring herself to try.

“What?” Barbara crossed her arms defensively at the looks she was getting. “Let me have my Christmas-flavored drink.”

“We didn’t say anything,” Hannah smirked with amusement, pulling her two companions towards a booth. Diana noticed that there was a new assistant in the cafe preparing their orders. Jasminka was cutting off the crusts of a fresh order of sandwiches, putting the crumbs into a paper bag before walking out from behind the counter towards a table and—

Oh. She blinked, registering familiar brown hair bobbing about in its usual childish fashion. Its owner shot Jasminka a grin, thanking her for “giving the local kitty food” before accepting the paper bag with red, sparkling eyes. Everything began to click into place, she really should have expected this, and before she knew it Diana was striding towards the table with authority in her gait.

“Why am I not surprised that _you_ had something to do with the stray cat at Central?” Diana crossed her arms, a neutral expression gracing her features while she stared Akko down. She noted that she was seated and apparently acquainted with Amanda O’Neil, and good lord—did the two individuals _most_ capable of raising the town’s collective blood pressure really need to be friends? So soon?

“You mean Toby?” Akko grinned.

“I see you’ve named him.”

The other woman—the one with glasses and light orange hair—she remembers as a regular, though she was mostly on her own when Diana saw her. She looked quiet and put together but somehow perfectly comfortable with her two, hardheaded and turbulent companions.

“Of course!” Akko blinked. “He’s my friend.”

“Wait a minute,” O’Neil slammed a palm on the table, squinting her eyes between the blonde and the brunette. “ _You two_ are friends?”

“Yes!” Akko asserted, in stark contrast to Diana’s calm and collected, “no.”

The blonde actually gawked a little.

She thought they were friends? She…? Diana was baffled. “You _shoved_ me at a crosswalk, complained the entire time I was treating you of your injuries, _refused_ to listen my medical advice—I can see scarring around the wound, I know you picked at it—and then entertained a stray cat around the premises of my clinic.”

Amanda face-palmed, “wow.”

“Exactly!” Akko stood up and balled her fists, shooting Diana a challenging glare.

Diana blinked. _Exactly?_

“Doesn’t that make us friends?!”

Caught completely off-guard by the assertion, and absolutely confused by this woman’s logic and definition of what “friendship” is, Diana found herself pushed to a corner. What on earth? What had either of them done to warrant friendship? Was she seriously declaring friendship while going red in the face with irritation?

Without truly thinking about her response, Diana stammered.

“I—I suppose?”

“See?! Was that so hard?!”

It was… frighteningly easier than she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So here's the third chapter - I hope you all enjoy it! Amanda finally makes an appearance, and we will be seeing more of Toby in the future ehe ehe ehe.
> 
> Addendum: I made a rough map of fanfic!Blytonbury as a reference for when I write directions / travel times. I just thought I'd color it and share it on my tumblr, if anyone cares LOL. This chapter is so satisfying to post just because of how much trouble I had writing it, schedule-wise. But ya know, people need to make a living and I'm thank to just have a bit of time to write. <3


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